“I think he won the right to choose his life, his future, such an amazing player and an amazing career.

“Only that awful injury in the wrong moment broke a fantastic couple of seasons he could and should have with us.”

Source: BBC

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/22/zlatan-ibrahimovic-manchester-united-striker-to-leave-old-trafford-club/feed/0West Ham give lifetime bans to pitch invaders at Burnley gamehttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/22/west-ham-give-lifetime-bans-to-pitch-invaders-at-burnley-game/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/22/west-ham-give-lifetime-bans-to-pitch-invaders-at-burnley-game/#respondThu, 22 Mar 2018 10:39:31 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=81249West Ham United have given lifetime bans to five supporters who invaded the pitch during the team’s 3-0 defeat by Burnley at London Stadium.

Several fans have also been banned for life for throwing coins or objects “with intent to injure or harm”.

Hammers joint-owner David Sullivan was hit by a coin as fans protested in front of the directors’ box.

The club said it had taken “swift and decisive action” after acts of “severe violence and physical aggression”.

It expects to issue further bans for attempted pitch invasions and violence before the next home game against fellow Premier League strugglers Southampton on 31 March.

“We take a zero tolerance approach to any form of violence that endangers the welfare of others, and we are committed to ensuring a safe and comfortable environment for all spectators,” said the Premier League club in a statement.

The Hammers have struggled since moving from Upton Park to the former Olympic Stadium in August 2016, winning 12 and losing 13 of their 33 home league matches there.

David Moyes’ team are two points and one place above the relegation zone.

Tighter safety and security measures, including an increased police presence, will be in operation for the visit of Southampton.

London Stadium’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG), which includes representatives from the club, police, Newham council, and stadium owners and operators, announced the decision after an emergency meeting last week.

It also warned that future trouble could lead to closures.

Source: BBC

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/22/west-ham-give-lifetime-bans-to-pitch-invaders-at-burnley-game/feed/0Kompany eyes ‘Derby Day’ title win after victory at Stokehttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/13/kompany-eyes-derby-day-title-win-after-victory-at-stoke/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/13/kompany-eyes-derby-day-title-win-after-victory-at-stoke/#respondTue, 13 Mar 2018 04:53:23 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=81031Captain Vincent Kompany says Manchester City side have “a once in a lifetime opportunity” to win the title against rivals Manchester United after they restored their 16-point lead at the top of the table with victory at Stoke.

David Silva scored both goals at the relegation-threatened Potters to ensure the Blues can clinch the title at home to United if they beat Everton first.

“Everybody in the blue side of Manchester knows it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Kompany. “But steady, it won’t be handed to us.”

Manager Pep Guardiola took a different approach, acknowledging his side would be champions “sooner or later” but playing down the significance of sealing matters in a derby game.

“Now we are two or three games away from being champions,” said Guardiola, adding it “doesn’t matter when we win it”.

Silva slotted in Raheem Sterling’s cross to give Manchester City an early lead over Stoke before finishing off a slick passing move after the break.

Sterling later pounced on a loose touch following a controversial drop-ball and raced through towards goal but Badou Ndiaye recovered to get a crucial touch just as the England winger prepared to shoot.

Fernandinho and Leroy Sane both came close for Manchester City as they sought to extend their lead, while Stoke’s Bruno Martins Indi also fired over the bar from close range.

The hosts had moments of hope in the first half – Ndiaye’s scuffed effort bounced narrowly wide and Kyle Walker’s deflection forced a save from Ederson.

But they remain in the relegation zone after failing to pick up a win in six matches and still one point adrift of safety.

Having thrashed Stoke 7-2 in October, this is the first time Manchester City have done the double over the Potters since the 1998-99 season, when both clubs were in the third tier.

Source: BBC

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/13/kompany-eyes-derby-day-title-win-after-victory-at-stoke/feed/0Andre Ayew promises better for Swansea after win against West Hamhttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/04/aandre-ayew-promises-better-for-swansea-after-win-against-west-ham/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/04/aandre-ayew-promises-better-for-swansea-after-win-against-west-ham/#respondSun, 04 Mar 2018 12:21:24 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=80763Andre Ayew hopes to put in more star performances after marking the first start of his second spell as a Swan with three assists against his former club west ham.

The Ghanaian rejoined Swansea City in January after clinching his move from the Hammers on transfer deadline day.

And he made a massive impact on his second full debut by teeing up three goals in the 4-1 victory over his former club at the Liberty which moved Carlos Carvalhal’s side up to 13th.

First, he set up Ki Sung-Yueng for the opener before his headed effort was kept out by Adrian and tapped home by loanee Andy King.

And he wrapped up a fine performance by earning a penalty, which his brother Jordan converted, after being tripped by Cheikhou Kouyate.

“It was great to get my first Premier League start since come back to the club. I’ve have had to take it easy in the last couple of weeks with my injury,” said the 28-year-old.

“I feel I am getting there. It was great to have an impact on the game with the assists for the goals. Hopefully I can bring more to the team.

“I am happy and I think the club have put a lot of confidence in me, so I hope to repay that with more big performances.”

Source: Swansea City

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/04/aandre-ayew-promises-better-for-swansea-after-win-against-west-ham/feed/0Premier League round-up: Swansea batter sorry West Ham and Tottenham move within a point of Manchester Unitedhttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/04/premier-league-round-up-swansea-batter-sorry-west-ham-and-tottenham-move-within-a-point-of-manchester-united/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/04/premier-league-round-up-swansea-batter-sorry-west-ham-and-tottenham-move-within-a-point-of-manchester-united/#respondSun, 04 Mar 2018 12:11:25 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=80756Swansea soared out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 4-1 home win over West Ham, who lost defender Winston Reid to what appeared to be a serious injury.

Carlos Carvalhal’s rejuvenated side took the lead after eight minutes through Ki Sung-yueng.

Reid was then hurt following an awkward fall when clearing a Swansea corner.

Following a lengthy delay of some 10 minutes, the New Zealand international was eventually taken off on a stretcher, his neck in a brace.

Dutchman Mike van der Hoorn doubled the hosts’ lead after 32 minutes, heading in at the back post.

It was 3-0 early in the second half when Andy King, on loan from Leicester, stabbed the ball in from close range.

Jordan Ayew added a fourth from the penalty spot after 63 minutes, before Irons substitute Michail Antonio netted a late consolation.

The Swans climb above West Ham on goal difference into 13th place.

Watford beat bottom club West Brom 1-0 at Vicarage Road, where earlier volunteers had helped clear snow to make sure the match went ahead.

Captain Troy Deeney broke the deadlock after 79 minutes with a neat finish over the goalkeeper to heap more pressure on Baggies boss Alan Pardew following a fifth league defeat in a row.

At the other end of the table, Tottenham moved to within one point of Manchester United after a 2-0 win over Huddersfield at Wembley with a brace from Son Heung-min.

There had been drama in the warm-up when referee Mike Jones was injured and had to be replaced by fourth official Kevin Friend – with a message sent out over the public address system for any qualified referees to provide additional back-up.

When the action started, Spurs were soon in front through a neat angled finish by Son after 27 minutes.

The South Korea international headed in a second in the 54th minute when picked out by Harry Kane.

Riyad Mahrez scored deep into stoppage time to earn Leicester a 1-1 draw at home against Bournemouth.

Norwegian forward Joshua King put the Cherries in front from the penalty spot after 35 minutes after he had been tripped by Marc Albrighton.

With six minutes of added time played, Mahrez – who almost left the Foxes for Manchester City during the January transfer window – curled in a free-kick to snatch a point.

Turkey forward Cenk Tosun had put the visitors in front after 20 minutes with his first goal in English football.

The Clarets, though, produced a second-half recovery to mark Sean Dyche’s 250th game in charge with a hard-earned win.

Following some fine saves from England keeper Jordan Pickford, Ashley Barnes equalised in the 56th minute, before striker Chris Wood headed in from a corner 10 minutes from time.

Everton finished with 10 men when captain Ashley Williams was shown a straight red card in the 86th minute for catching Barnes with his arm.

Stoke picked up a point, but remain in the bottom three, following a goalless draw at Southampton, who drop to 17th.

Source: Talksport

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/04/premier-league-round-up-swansea-batter-sorry-west-ham-and-tottenham-move-within-a-point-of-manchester-united/feed/0Arsenal 0-3 Manchester City: Irresistible Citizens blow away sorry Gunnershttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/02/arsenal-0-3-manchester-city-irresistible-citizens-blow-away-sorry-gunners/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/02/arsenal-0-3-manchester-city-irresistible-citizens-blow-away-sorry-gunners/#respondFri, 02 Mar 2018 04:58:59 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=80708Manchester City inflicted more pain on Arsene Wenger with a second crushing 3-0 victory over his Arsenal side in the space of four days.

After losing Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, the Gunners could not find any level of retribution as they were again humbled by far superior opposition in Pep Guardiola’s 100th game in charge.

Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Leroy Sane all scored wonderful first-half goals for City, who now require only five more wins to secure the Premier League title.

Arsenal were better than they were at Wembley but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half penalty miss summed up their current form.

The game at the Emirates Stadium went ahead despite sub-zero temperatures and snowfall across much of the country.

Wenger must have been left wishing the fixture had fallen foul of the conditions as his players failed to weather another City storm.

Gary Neville labelled Arsenal “spineless” during Sky’s coverage of the cup final and he was commentating again tonight but all he could do this time was aim superlatives at a superb City performance.

The Gunners started with a vigour that was missing for much of Sunday’s final and were unlucky not to go ahead when a low Aaron Ramsey cross cannoned off Vincent Kompany, with the ball fortuitously bouncing against Ederson in the visitors’ goal.

Arsenal were creating the better chances in the opening exchanges and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, returning to the side having been cup-tied at Wembley, hit a left-footed drive straight at Ederson as they looked to make their early dominance pay.

But that good work was undone with a moment of class from Bernardo Silva, who was found by Sane following a jinking run before bending a perfect strike past Petr Cech to open the scoring.

Granit Xhaka’s well-struck free-kick got Arsenal fired up once more, with Ramsey the next to test Ederson.

But again it was a combination of individual and collective brilliance which saw City double their lead.

Sane embarrassed Shkodran Mustafi with some neat skill, with his pass into Aguero laid off to David Silva for the Spaniard to finish with aplomb.

It threatened to get more galling for Wenger and his side when Sane scored a goal of his own, finishing Kyle Walker’s cross at the end of a slick attack.

Arsenal passed up a glorious chance to reduce the arrears when Aubameyang’s tame penalty was pushed clear by Ederson after Nicolas Otamendi had upended Mkhitaryan.

The Gabon striker then flashed a volley just wide as he looked to add to the solitary goal he has scored since joining for a club-record fee on transfer deadline day.

With the weather conditions worsening, the game lost any sense of haste as the visitors seemed pleased to settle on a three-goal advantage.

Aguero almost added a fourth – which would have been his 200th City goal – only for Petr Cech to make a smart save low to his right.

But by then the points were safely in the bag and plenty of Arsenal fans were on their way home.

Source: Talksport

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/03/02/arsenal-0-3-manchester-city-irresistible-citizens-blow-away-sorry-gunners/feed/0Ayew urges Swansea to maintain momentumhttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/02/13/ayew-urges-swansea-to-maintain-momentum/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/02/13/ayew-urges-swansea-to-maintain-momentum/#respondTue, 13 Feb 2018 11:28:53 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=80163Andre Ayew is urging Swansea City to maintain their remarkable run of form as they bid to finish the season in style.

The Swans have gone nine games without defeat – their longest sequence without a loss since the 2009-10 campaign.

It has been a spectacular upturn in fortunes for a team who had not gone more than two games without being beaten this season prior to Carlos Carvalhal’s appointment at the end of December.

The Swans claimed a fifth straight home victory in all competitions against Burnley over the weekend, and are now 16th in the Premier League table after Ki Sung-Yueng’s late strike saw off the Clarets.

And Carvalhal’s men are still in the Emirates FA Cup, with a trip to Sheffield Wednesday ahead in round five this weekend.

Ayew came off the bench against Burnley for his first appearance for the Swans since rejoining from West Ham United.

And he has called on his new team-mates to continue their resurgence in the coming weeks.

“The whole team is doing really well,” the forward said.

“We’re showing a lot of character and determination.

“We had a few chances in the first half, but we didn’t get nervous and kept playing our game. At the end of the day, we got the goal.

“It’s been a difficult period for us. We may have won but there are still a lot of games to go, so we just need to keep our momentum going as we’ve got a big game coming up against Brighton.”

Source: Swansea City

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/02/13/ayew-urges-swansea-to-maintain-momentum/feed/0Chelsea 3-0 West Brom: Eden Hazard shines as Blues return to winning ways and Premier League top fourhttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/02/13/chelsea-3-0-west-brom-eden-hazard-shines-as-blues-return-to-winning-ways-and-premier-league-top-four/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/02/13/chelsea-3-0-west-brom-eden-hazard-shines-as-blues-return-to-winning-ways-and-premier-league-top-four/#respondTue, 13 Feb 2018 04:50:01 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=80149Chelsea eased the growing pressure on Antonio Conte and returned to the Premier League’s top four with a convincing 3-0 win over West Brom.

Two goals from Eden Hazard and another from Victor Moses ended a run of five fixtures without victory, took them back above rivals Tottenham and up to fourth – and left 20th-placed West Brom seven points from safety.

The visitors also remain five points behind Stoke, the team nearest to them in the table, and with 11 fixtures remaining are facing a battle for survival.

Daniel Sturridge’s arrival on loan from Liverpool was widely considered a coup for Alan Pardew’s team but the former Chelsea striker lasted just three minutes on his return to Stamford Bridge before succumbing to an apparent hamstring injury.

Jay Rodriguez, recently charged by the Football Association with racially abusing Brighton’s Gaetan Bong, came on as Sturridge’s replacement but soon wasted their finest chance.

His strike partner Salomon Rondon had already headed over the crossbar when, from an aimless long ball, Moses carelessly directed a header into Rodriguez’s path, sending him clear on the edge of the area. Despite time and space he then struck first time, harmlessly stabbing wide of the left post.

While West Brom had already lost their new striker, Chelsea had given a first start to theirs, but it was Davide Zappacosta and not Olivier Giroud who first tested Ben Foster. When Cesar Azpilicueta’s right-wing cross just evaded Giroud and Craig Dawson, Zappacosta struck at the back post before watching the goalkeeper save.

Giroud, an £18million signing from Arsenal, then impressed with the same build-up play he regularly demonstrated at his former club in helping the hosts take the lead in the 25th minute. After Hazard collected Cesc Fabregas’ pass on the edge of the penalty area and resisted pressure he found Giroud, who laid the ball off to him in front of goal, from where the Belgian powerfully finished into the bottom left corner.

The hosts’ confidence and dominance of possession thereafter continued to grow, and Rondon posing so little threat from another rare chance that came West Brom’s way highlighted the visitors’ problems.

After outmuscling Andreas Christensen following another long ball the striker went one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois but saw his low shot well saved by the goalkeeper.

It was 2-0 in the 63rd minute when Fabregas’ attempted pass to substitute Alvaro Morata was deflected by Ahmed Hegazi into the path of Moses in front of goal, gifting him the close range finish he routinely rolled beyond Foster.

A good night for the hosts was wrapped up in the 71st minute when the superb Hazard scored his second, and the hosts’ third. He received possession from Morata on the edge of the area and shot early, classily curling the ball just inside the near post to spark further chants of support for Conte from the home support.

Source: Talksport

]]>http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/02/13/chelsea-3-0-west-brom-eden-hazard-shines-as-blues-return-to-winning-ways-and-premier-league-top-four/feed/0Manchester City 5-1 Leicester City: Sergio Aguero scores four as Premier League leaders run riothttp://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/02/11/manchester-city-5-1-leicester-city-sergio-aguero-scores-four-as-premier-league-leaders-run-riot/
http://sport.citifmonline.com/2018/02/11/manchester-city-5-1-leicester-city-sergio-aguero-scores-four-as-premier-league-leaders-run-riot/#respondSun, 11 Feb 2018 10:57:09 +0000http://sport.citifmonline.com/?p=80106Sergio Aguero scored four goals as Premier League leaders Manchester City showed Riyad Mahrez what he is missing in a 5-1 thrashing of Leicester City.

Mahrez returned as a substitute for Leicester after more than a week in self-imposed exile following the collapse of a move to City, and he likely watched on in awe as Pep Guardiola’s side ran riot.

Aguero scored all his goals in the second half at the Etihad Stadium, propelling City to a 16-point lead at the top of the table after Jamie Vardy cancelled out Raheem Sterling’s early opener.

The first three City goals were all created by Kevin De Bruyne who, alongside Aguero, was also outstanding.

Mahrez was named on the bench after returning to training on Friday and he could only watch as City raced out of the blocks with Sterling opening the scoring inside three minutes.

The ever-impressive De Bruyne curled in a dangerous low ball behind the defence and Sterling tapped in at the back-post.

From there it seemed City would assert full control as they dominated possession but they struggled to create clear-cut chances.

Aguero threatened in the area but showed too much of the ball to Christian Fuchs and Leicester, having already warned City of their intention to counter, quickly broke upfield.

Nicolas Otamendi did win the ball back but then lost it again with a sloppy pass, and Vardy raced clear and beat Ederson with a clinical finish to pull Leicester level.

City needed to start applying the final touches and they did so early in the second period, ruthlessly exposing Foxes boss Claude Puel’s decision to switch from a back three to back four.

De Bruyne was again at the heart of their good work, exchanging passes with Sterling and picking out Aguero at the far post for a simple tap-in after 48 minutes, and De Bruyne set up another for Aguero just five minutes later.

That put the hosts in firm command but Puel responded by sending on, to a mixed reception, Mahrez and, to a good hand, former City striker Kelechi Iheanacho.

But ot was to no avail and Aguero wrapped up victory with two more.

The Argentine completed his hat-trick – his third of the season – with a beautiful finish, clipping the ball over Kasper Schmeichel after a terrible error from the Leicester goalkeeper.

But Aguero saved the best until last, as he netted his fourth on 90 minutes with a thunderous strike – the cherry on what was a resounding win for City.

The division’s leading marksman was perfectly placed to meet Ben Davies’ cross to power a spectacular header past Petr Cech.

Alexandre Lacazette had two glorious chances to rescue something for the visitors, but fluffed his lines on both occasions.

Spurs could have won by more at Wembley had they not squandered countless chances in the second half but Kane’s seventh goal in eight versions of this fixture was enough to seal all three points.

A chaotic opening quarter of an hour had both teams threatening on the counter-attack but it took until the 27th minute for the first real chance to arrive.

Kane should have scored as he drifted beyond Nacho Monreal and Christian Eriksen found him with a clipped cross, but the striker, unmarked, headed over from seven yards.

Spurs settled quicker but in truth the half deteriorated as it went on. Eric Dier could have turned in a skewed Mousa Dembele shot but he also miskicked and by the whistle both teams looked in need of a reset.

When they re-emerged, however, it was Tottenham who grabbed the ascendancy, punching the ball forward faster and harrying their opponents with the sort of aggression Arsenal were either not ready for or simply unable to match.

There was little complicated about Kane’s opener. Ben Davies was allowed time to cross from the left and he jumped high above Laurent Koscielny, before nodding past Cech.

For the next 30 minutes, Arsenal were hanging on as Kane glanced Dier’s delivery wide and then leathered a volley straight at Cech, after Kieran Trippier had poked the ball through Jack Wilshere’s legs.

Cech, in the spotlight after recent errors, came to the rescue again soon after, with Eriksen’s dipping free-kick heading for the top corner before the keeper tipped it over.

It was just a case of how costly Spurs’ wastefulness would prove as Dele Alli had a glorious chance one against one, but prodded a dribbling finish wide, before Cech denied both Trippier and substitute Erik Lamela from close range.

Lacazette twice should have made them pay for their wastefulness, volleying one chance over and then skewing an even better one wide when Davinson Sanchez got the wrong side.

It tees Spurs up perfectly for their midweek Champions League tie with Juventus and adds further weight to suggestions of a power shift in North London.

Tottenham are now seven points clear of Arsenal in the table, with the Gunners having lost eight games already this season.